The funeral for Nicholas Romanovich Romanov was held on September 17th in the local Chiesa dei Santi Giacomo e Cristoforo (Church of St. Jacob and Christopher) in the Tuscan town of Bolgheri, Italy.

Nicholas Romanovich, the oldest living descendant of the Russian Imperial Family died on September 14th at his family home in Tuscany, 10 days before his 92nd birthday.

Among those present were Nicholas Romanovich’s wife, Sveva, their three daughters, five grandchildren, his brother - Dmitri Romanovich and other family members, representatives of the Russian Federation and the local city authorities. The body of the deceased will be buried in the family crypt of his wife, Countess Sveva della Gherardesca, in the nearby town of Pisa.

At the foot of the coffin lay numerous wreaths, including a wreath of flowers of the Russian tricolour. Condolences were received from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a telegram of sympathy signed by the Speaker of the State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin, which was delivered by the Russian ambassador to the Vatican, Alexander Avdeev.

The Russian news media have reported this morning that Nicholas Romanovich Romanov has died at the age of 92. He passed away yesterday at his estate in Tuscany, surrounded by members of his family. "This is a huge loss for us," - his younger brother, Dimitri Romanovich told ITAR-TASS, adding that it has not yet been decided where his brother will be buried.

Nicholas Romanovich belonged to the Nikolaevichi branch of the Russian Imperial Family which was founded by his great-great-grandfather, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (1831-1891), the third son of Emperor Nicholas I.

Nicholas Romanovich was born in Antibes, in the south of France on September 26, 1922. His father, Roman Petrovich (1896-1978) - Prince of the Imperial Blood, was a second cousin of the last emperor. His mother, Countess Praskovia Sheremeteva - was the daughter of Count Dimitri Sheremetev, a childhood friend and adjutant of Nicholas II.

His grandparents were Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (1864-1931) and his wife Grand Duchess Militza Nikolaevna (nee Princess Milica of Montenegro). They escaped Russia in 1919 aboard the British battleship, HMS Marlborough, along with other members of the Russian Imperial family, including the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.

After the family moved to Rome in the pre-war years, he entered the classical department of the Lyceum. In 1942, the nineteen-year-old Nicholas Romanovich rejected a proposal of the fascist government of Italy to become the king of occupied Montenegro. From July 1944, he worked in organizations engaged in military actions against the Nazi propaganda.

After the war, the family settled in Egypt, and then returned to Europe. In January 1952 he married Countess Sveva della Gherardesca, heiress of the ducal family. Nicholas and his wife lived in Rougemont, Switzerland, for seven months every year, usually in the winter. During the rest of the year they stayed at their estate in Tuscany. The couple had three daughters: Natalia, Elizaveta and Tatiana.

In July 1998, he participated in the funeral ceremony in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the remains of Nicholas II and his family. It was during this historic event that I had my one and only opportunity of meeting Nicholas Romanovich in person. We were introduced in the lobby of the Hotel Astoria and chatted briefly. He was very cordial, and I still recall his kind eyes and enigmatic smile.

In 1979, the Romanov Family Association was officially formed with Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich as president and Nicholas as vice-president. When Vasili Alexandrovich became president in 1980, Nicholas remained vice-president. In 1989, after the death of Vasili Alexandrovich, Prince Nicholas was elected the new president of the Romanov Family Association. As a charitable endeavour, the association operates the Romanov Fund for Russia to raise money for aid projects in Russia.

The Romanov Family Association should not be confused with the Russian Imperial House, of which HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is the current head. Some years back, Nicholas Romanovich told a St. Petersburg journalist that he was a republican, and did not support a restoration of monarchy in Russia.

On behalf of thousands of Royal Russia friends, supporters and followers around the world, I would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest condolences and prayers to Nicholas Romanovich’s wife, daughters, and other family members for their loss.

Journalists were invited to the home of Nicholas Romanovich last week to get a preview of the items of his personal collection which will go under the hammer this month. Among the items are letters, photographs and other personal belongings of his ancestors, including his great-great uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich.

Nicholas told journalists that his decision to sell these heirlooms is in the hope that they will help shed further light on the history of the Russian Imperial family in anticipation of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 2013.

"Of course, I am sorry to part with all of this, but I am 90 now. I made the decision," he told journalists.

In 1915, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich was relieved of his duties as Commander-in-Chief when Tsar Nicholas II took over the military lead, but Nicholas Romanovich, who was born four years after the Tsar's murder in 1918, has kept his Grand Uncle's military cap, that he's selling at the Geneva auction. "When I found this, I tried it of course, not because I wanted, but because I knew, that if it didn't really fit me, and you see on these photographs, it never reached the back of his (Nicholas Nicholayevich) head", Nicholas Romanov told journalists.

The auction which consists of some 3,000 items will be held at Hôtel des Ventes of Geneva on December 10th.

Nicholas Romanovich at his home in Switzerland presents his personal collection of Romanov memorabilia to journalists, which included letters, photographs and other personal items of his ancestors.

In the framework of the forthcoming Special Russia sale, Bernard Piguet, director and chief auctioneer at the Hôtel des Ventes of Geneva, invited journalists to a press conference on November 29th that was attended by Nicholas Romanovich, head of the Romanov Family Association.

The eldest living representative of the House of Romanov and a direct descendant of Emperor Nicholas I answered questions by journalists and commented on the photographs and letters of Tsar Nicholas II and his uncle Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich, supreme commander of the armies of the Russian Empire which will be part of the upcoming auction on December 10, 2012.

Initially, the press conference was to be held in Geneva; however, the weather forced the 90-year-old to change his plans. Instead, journalists were invited to his home in the town of Rougemont, located in the eastern Swiss canton of Vaud.

“These documents lay in a box owned by my grandfather for a very long time,” said Nicholas Romanovich, “then - they were handed down to my father - and then to me. I hope that the letters will fall into the hands of competent people who will one day write a new biography about my ancestors.”

Letter from Tsar Nicholas II to Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich

Photographs and cabinet cards of Tsar Nicholas II

The cap worn by Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich as seen in the photograph

On September 26 Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, the eldest living representative of the House of Romanov and a direct descendant of Emperor Nicholas I, celebrated his 90th birthday. A historic and preserver of family traditions, he has for nearly a quarter of a century headed the Romanov Family Association, ITAR-TASS reports.

“In our family – from the first sovereign to our day – I am the first man to live to the age of 90. None of the Romanovs, beginning from Mikhail Fyodorovich, reached such an age,” Prince Nicholas notes.

His father – Prince Roman Petrovich – was the godson and third cousin of the last emperor and his mother – Princess Praskovia Dmitrievna (née Countess Sheremeteva) – was the daughter of Dimity Sheremetev, a childhood friend and aide-de-camp of Nicholas II. His parents got married in exile and his father was among to the last of the White Army forces to depart from the Crimea during the Civil War, taking with him a handful of dirt from his motherland. “He could not return, but that bottle filled with earth from the Crimea remained with him wherever he moved,” Prince Nicholas recalls.

Born in Cap d'Antibes near Antibes, France, Prince Nicholas nonetheless speaks perfect Russian, thanks to the efforts of his parents, who as he says instilled in him “the Russian spirit.” Prince Nicholas lived and studied in Rome. In 1942 the 19-year-old Nicholas turned down an offer by the Fascist government to rule occupied Montenegro.

In 1989 he became the President of the Romanov Family Association. “Neither I nor any of the other Romanov lay claim to anything – only to the right to be of use to Russia,” Nicholas says. One of the organization’s activities is providing philanthropic support to hospitals and kindergartens in Russia.

Nicholas Romanovich Meets Former King of BulgariaTopic: Nicholas Romanovich

Nicholas Romanovich recently met with the former King of Bulgaria, Simeon, at his home in Rougemont, Switzerland. Simeon was accompanied by the deputy of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Rumen Petkov.

“I hope I will be able to visit Bulgaria and get acquainted with this country, which we have always felt very close, mostly because of the language,” Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, Prince of Russia, said in a special interview with FOCUS News Agency.

“The Bulgarian language is intelligible for all Russians, I find the rest of the Christian languages much harder. I cannot speak Bulgarian but I can read absolutely everything,” he added.

“The friendship between some countries and others – the traditional friendship between Bulgaria and Russia, the traditional friendship between Russia and Greece – all this used to have great importance in the past,” he remarked.

“To me, Bulgaria is something very close and at the same time – something very distanced. The Bulgarian relations with Russia have not always been easy. There were some difficult political situations,” Romanov said.